How to Make a Whimsical Milk & Cookies Cake

Who doesn’t love milk and cookies? This milk and cookies cake is delicious and crazy cool.  

This milk and cookies cake has soft vanilla cake layers, filled with edible chocolate chip cookie dough and creamy vanilla buttercream. Then it has a whimsical white chocolate milk splash on top with a mini cookie dunking into it. This illustration is fun and creative, that’s perfect for any celebration! 

Like every great cake, it starts with a delicious cake recipe. Today we are making this vanilla semi-homemade cake. It’s semi-homemade because it combines store-bought boxed cake mix and scratch-made pound cake. The two methods blend into one cake that tastes insanely delicious. I called this a foolproof vanilla cake recipe because anyone can make this cake recipe.

My favorite part about this cake is the edible chocolate chip cookie dough that sits in between cake layers. This cookie dough can be eaten raw since there are no eggs and uses a non-dairy creamer in the cookie dough. You can also bake the cookie dough just like regular cookies, and that’s what I use for decorating on the sides of the cake. 

The cake is frosted with a creamy vanilla buttercream that’s super easy to make. It’s made with butter, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and heavy cream, and this recipe is the basic foundation for most buttercream. Once you master this, then it’ll be super easy to make other flavorful buttercreams. 

Finally, I’ll show you how to make the milk splash. It’s a super cool technique that starts with a small balloon and melted white chocolate. The white chocolate dries over the balloon, and when it’s set, then you’ll pop the balloon exposing this funky milk splash. I find this technique super impressive and simple to make. The best part is how you can re-melt the chocolate if you made any mistakes so you can try again without a lot of extra work. 

This milk and cookies cake is a fun treat for kids of all ages! 

Tips for success: 

• Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.

• You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month. 

• You can make the buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping.

• The chocolate chip cookie dough tastes the best when the margarine or butter is whipped on medium-high speed for 15-20 minutes. Yes, it’s a lot of time but the longer it’s whipped, the more the sugar is broken down and the creamier the dough tastes. 

• I prefer the chocolate chip cookie dough to be made ahead of time since it helps meld the flavors together and tastes better. After making the cookie dough wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or freeze up to one month. Thaw on the counter for room temperature. 

• A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.

• Serve the cake at room temperature for easy cutting and serving. If the cake is too cold, then it’ll be challenging to cut into the cookie dough layers. 

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake: 

• 3, 6-inch cake pans or 2, 8-inch cake pans
• Offset spatula 
• 8-inch or 10-inch cake board 
• Serrated knife or cake leveler 
• Turntable 
• Cake scraper or bench scraper
• Piping bag (I use silicone reusable bags)
• Whisk or sifter
• Rubber Spatula
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
• Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
• Cake Stand, optional
• Baking sheet pans
• Silicone baking mat, optional 
• 2-3 balloons (may need a few to practice on)
• 8-10 ounces white chocolate candy melts 

Here’s how to make this super fun and delicious milk and cookies cake! 

Let’s Get Decorating! 

How to Make a Foolproof Vanilla Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk and stir together the cake mix, all-purpose flour, and salt. Set aside. 
3. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high for 5 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time to the stand mixer bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated.
5. Turn the mixer on low and add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture until fully incorporated. 
6. Add the vanilla and milk and beat on low until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Finish by adding the remaining flour mixture and mix on medium for another 30 seconds. 
7. Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
8. Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place into the freezer to chill for 30 minutes. 

How to Make Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 

1. In a small-size bowl whisk and stir together the all-purpose flour and salt. Set aside. 
2. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar and beat on high for about 15 minutes until light and fluffy and most of the sugar has dissolved. 
3. Turn the mixer to low, add non-dairy creamer and vanilla mix until well incorporated. Slowly add the flour and salt and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn off the mixer and fold in 3/4 cups of mini chocolate chips. 
4. Wrap cookie dough in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to chill for 15-30 minutes until the cookie dough is firm.
5. Divide the cookie dough into two equal parts, reserve one part for the filling and set aside. Then form 18-24 (1/2-inch) round balls of dough. 
6. Place the cookie dough balls onto a prepared baking sheet pan, and press down slightly to help bake better. 
7. In a preheated oven, bake the mini cookies at 350 °F for 7-9 minutes. Then set aside to cool for 2 minutes before moving the cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling. 
8. Place a sheet of plastic wrap inside a 6-inch cake pan, then add 2/3 cup of cookie dough into the cake pan. Press into a disk. Flip the cookie dough out onto a piece of wax paper and repeat the process. Chill the cookie dough disks and save for later. 

How to Make Creamy Vanilla Buttercream 

1. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Mix until incorporated completely. Scrape down sides of the bowl. 
3. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the frosting for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles. Place ¼ of the buttercream into a piping bag.   

How to Make a White Chocolate Milk Splash 

1. In a small microwaveable bowl combine the white candy coating chocolate and coconut oil. Melt the white chocolate and coconut oil together in the microwave. Heat 30 seconds at a time about 1 ½ minute until the chocolate is melted. Then pour the chocolate into a piping bag or Ziploc bag and set aside.   
2. Then blow up a balloon about 3 inches wide and place knot side down onto a drinking cup or measuring cup to hold the balloon in place. 
3. Next, carefully pour the white chocolate over the balloon starting in the center that’ll slowly drip down the sides. Gently tap the balloon, so the chocolate evens out and slides down the balloon. Then place the balloon and cup in the refrigerator to cool and harden for 30 minutes before popping the balloon. (Note: you might want to make more than one balloon as sometimes it’s difficult to remove the balloon without cracking the white chocolate). 
4. Make sure the chocolate is cold and dried so you can easily pop the balloon and remove it. Then set it aside for later. 

How to Assemble this Milk & Cookies Cake 

1. Layer a chilled vanilla cake, cut side up onto cake board. Place a layer of buttercream on top of the cake then add cookie dough disk on top. Add a thin layer of buttercream. 
2. Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. Repeat the process for another layer — Crumb coat and freeze for 30 minutes. 
3. Then add a thin layer of buttercream around the middle of the cake. Press 14-18 baked mini cookies into the center of the cake. Add mini chocolate chips to fill in the gaps in between cookies. 
4. Add a thicker layer of buttercream above and below the middle of the cake keeping the cookies exposed. 
5. While turning the cake, press your offset spatula from the bottom to the top holding the offset spatula perpendicular to the cake. 
6. Place the white chocolate milk splash on top of the cake, add 1 Tablespoon of buttercream and add a baked cookie inside the splash. 
7. Serve the cake at room temperature for easy cutting and serving. If the cake is too cold, then it’ll be challenging to cut into the cookie dough layers. 

You May Also Enjoy: 

• Lucky Charms Cereal Cake (tutorial)
• How to Cut & Serve Cake (free guide)
• Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook)
• How to Decorate Your First Cake (free course)
• Cake Decorating for Beginners (online course)

How cool is this milk and cookies cake? It’s a fun and exciting cake to share with your friends and family. The white chocolate milk splash is whimsical and really pulls the whole milk and cookie theme together. Now you’ll feel just like a professional when you make this cake at home! 

Happy Baking! 

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake program. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so you can take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there!

Watch The How-to Video Below:

 

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